Khamenei: ‘Iran refuses to be blackmailed’

Iran Rejects Demands for Assad’s Removal as a Precondition

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast rejected on Thursday demands for the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to stand down. In a press briefing in the northeastern city of Mashhad attended by US scholars, Mehmanparast said: “Iran rejects [remarks by] those who set conditions for the resolution of the Syria crisis and say that Bashar al-Assad must leave his post and that he cannot participate in any next election, because this is interference in Syria’s affairs.” Iran seeks the restoration of stability and security to Syria as well as the holding of public elections without foreign interference, he said, adding the Islamic Republic does not back any particular person or group. “Iran believes that the Syrian people themselves should elect their government and president,” he said, stressing people’s choice must be respected. Mehmanparast said that Iran clarified its policy towards Syria in the form of a six-point peace plan, which calls for an immediate end to all violent and armed acts and urges national dialogue with the participation of all Syrian groups. Concerning Iranian talks with the US, IRNA said that negotiation with US within framework of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei would not happen as long as Americans have not changed their attitude and have not apologized to the Iranian nation due to 60 years of its hostile and oppressive measures. “Negotiations with various countries are the priority of the foreign policy of any state. Negotiation with the US is not on the agenda of any Iranian officials, meanwhile, Iran would negotiate with any country except the Zionist regime,” Mehmanparast said.

Khamenei: ‘Iran refuses to be blackmailed’

 

Posted on February 8, 2013

On Thursday, during a meeting with an Iranian army delegation, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatullah Ali Khamenei commented on the latest US proposal on direct talks between Washington and Tehran, saying: “Any such negotiations accompanied with threats, pressure, and bad intentions, are meaningless”.

“The new US officials are repeating their calls for negotiations, and are claiming that the ball is Iran’s court. The ball is actually in the US court and the American leaders should explain what does a call for negotiations, accompanied with threat, pressure and bad intentions, means,” said Ayatullah Khamenei.

“I am not a diplomat. I am a revolutionary and speak frankly, honestly and firmly. An offer of talks make sense only when the side which makes the offer shows its goodwill. The Americans point the gun at Iran and say either negotiations or we pull the trigger! You should know that pressure and negotiations don’t go together, and the Iranian nation will not be intimated by such things,” said Ayatullah Khamenei.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution further highlighted “the failure of the US foreign policy in the Middle East,” considering that “this failure urged them to confirm that negotiations will take place. America is trying to use Iran as a winning card, by dragging it into negotiations, to compensate for its political defeats in the region, and to make the world believe that it has good intentions.”
Earlier this week, both US vice-president Joe Biden (a Zionist Christian) and new secretary of state John Kerry (with Jewish family roots) proposed direct talks with Iran, “only if Iran is serious in resolving US concerns”.

Iran’s foreign minister Ali Akbar Salehi in response to the US proposal said, that “negotiations are not a forbidden zone” – citing negotiations two states have already held on Iraq and Afghanistan.
On February 6, in its latest move, the US treasury Department denied Iran access to revenue generated from its oil exports. Under this new sanction, Iran will only be able to use revenue from its oil sales in a country which buy the oil. The continuous US-UN-EU sanctions have no effect on Tehran’s resolve to continue its disputed civilian nuclear program. However, the restrictions on foodstuff and critical medicines have created a life-and-death situation for ordinary Iranian people.
Last year, professor Graham Allison (Harvard University) told David Ignatius, the Zionist Jew columnist with the Washington Post, that the United States will finally have to reach an agreement with Iran. To prove this, he had brought examples of the past steps taken in the US foreign policy. He added that Washington has been forced more than once to give up its urgent demands and avoid of pursuing to achieve a maximum degree of its demands, such as, with Russia and China during the Cold War.

Israeli leaders claim that Iran is secretly developing a nuclear bomb to “wipe Israel off map”. The Zionist-controlled regimes in the US, Britain, France and Germany agree with Israeli leaders. Iranian leaders have denied Israeli allegations saying they don’t need nuclear bombs to destroy Zionist regime which was defeated by Hizballah fighters in 2006.

Ayatullah Ali Khamenei has declared on several occasions that WMDs are against the teachings of Islam.

Under Iranian Constitution, Ayatullah Ali Khamenei is the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of Iran’s Armed Forces – and the only authority which can declare Jihad to defend Iran and the Islamic Revolution.

The next meeting between Iran and the so-called P5+1 (US, Britain, France, China, and Russia plus Germany) is due to be held in Kazakhstan on February 26, 2013.

• Biden: US wants direct talks with Iran

 

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian  
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!